Janway laid out a timeline that stretches back to the 1970s when the well was first drilled, and told committee members that the state approved and permitted the well and made money from royalties and should be the primary source of funding for remediation.

"The closure of this brine well is a state issue in every sense of the word," Janway said Tuesday.

The committee agreed with Janway, adding that the state is realistically one of the only entities with the financial resources to take on the remediation project, estimated to cost $25 million.

"Utmost urgency is needed in resolving the jeopardy posed by the abandoned brine well," Rep. Cathrynn Brown wrote in a memo to Janway detailing the committee's sentiments.

The committee issued two pieces of proposed legislation they intend on presenting at the 2017 legislative session.

The first proposes the creation of a brine well remediation advisory authority, intended to keep the Oil Conservation Division up to date and advise them on issues relating to well remediation.

A similar proposal was made at the last legislative session which passed the House but failed in the Senate Finance Committee, which claimed liability for the well was unclear.

The Hazardous Waste and Materials Committee also proposed a bill that appropriates $500,000 from the general fund to the Oil Conservation Division for the development of a plan to remediate the well.

"The only way to fix it is to fill it," Janway said. "That's one of the things this committee was just so aggravated with, is that the OCD is just studying it to death and nothing is going forward."

Sen. Carroll Leavell (R-41) and Brown (R-55) will sponsor the bills.

Janway said he feels confident the legislation will get through this time around.

"The members of this committee are highly influential. I think they're determined that we need to move forward and get this done," Janway said. "It's been languishing."

Maddy Hayden may be reached at 575-628-5512, mahayden@currentargus.com and @Maddy_J_Hayden on Twitter.